All Through the Night
by queerwonderland
Summary: Thunder reminds Kara of death and destruction. Lena is there to help.


Kara and Lena are only friends in this fic, but it could be perceived as the beginning of something more :)

Feel free to leave prompts if you'd like something written.

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If you decided to take a midnight stroll through National City and happened to walk past the building that was home to L-Corp, you'd see that all lights but one were switched off. That one light that was still on in the early hours of morning was in Lena Luthor's office. But, of course, you wouldn't know it was her office. Not unless you knew her well enough to know she was the kind of person who frequently worked all through the night. Not unless you were Kara Danvers.

Although it wasn't completely unusual for Lena to be working at one in the morning, something about the whole situation was very unusual. You see, this was the first time she really wasn't happy she was working at one in the morning. She was tired and desperate for a break, and she wanted to do something fun. She wanted to go to game night and make up for all the ones she had missed in the past few weeks. She wanted nothing more than to call Kara and go to that one sushi bar her best friend had been going on about for months. But Lena was a workaholic and deep down knew she'd feel really guilty about not working. After all, curing cancer was much more important than her need for a break.

That night, something else was different. She was sitting at her desk, oblivious to the events that were about to unfold in her office, when she heard a knock on the door. Her head shot up, thinking in panic of all the possible people that could be knocking on her door after midnight.

"Come in," she said loudly and waited for the door to open. Seconds later she came face to face with her best friend.

"Kara?" she confirmed, her voice filled with surprise. She noticed something was wrong when she saw that her friend was shaking all over. You see, the girl of steel didn't get cold that often.

"Kara, what is it?" Lena asked with a slight panic in her voice, instantly getting up from behind her desk and walking towards her best friend.

"N-nothing," Kara stuttered, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes. Lena stayed silent for a while, eyeing her trembling friend suspiciously, looking for any signs of injury or anything else that might explain her distraught state. She opened her mouth to ask again just as loud thunder erupted in the skies above them. The noise was followed, only a second later, by bright lightning that shone through the glass windows of Lena's office. Kara jumped, covering her face with her shaking hands. It finally hit Lena.

"Kara, it's okay," she said calmly, walking the younger woman over to the couch when she felt her legs weaken. Kara could probably hear the storm coming from miles away, Lena thought to herself as she sat her friend down on the couch and fetched a blanket from the shelf. Sitting down next to her, she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. More thunder interrupted the otherwise peaceful night. Kara started sobbing uncontrollably, her breathing becoming more and more irregular by the minute.

"They're dying!" she screamed, covering her face. "I couldn't save them, Lena. I couldn't save my people," she continued, quieter this time. Lena understood that Kara was having some kind of flashback. She knew thunder reminded her of Krypton being destroyed.

"None of it was your fault," Lena said pulling her friend into her arms.

"It was! I should have saved them," Kara cried harder, gripping the fabric of Lena's shirt.

"Listen to me," Lena said, quietly but firmly at the same time, her voice possessing a calmness that Kara hadn't heard before. She lifted her head off her friend's shoulder and looked at her, still sobbing. Lena stroked her cheek with indescribable affection, such affection that contained the power to destroy even the strongest walls and for a second, Kara was convinced that one day that very same affection would bring eternal peace to Earth. "You are not to blame for the destruction of your planet. Don't you ever feel guilty for surviving," Lena said, the same affection still present. Kara didn't think she deserved so much care. This made her cry even more. She buried her face into the crook of her friend's neck, desperately seeking the comfort she needed as images of screaming people and burning buildings overtook her mind.

As Lena held her best friend close, she struggled to keep her own emotions at bay. Her vision was blury with tears as she thought about the most important person in her life trapped in a small pod, all alone in space. She stroked her friend's arm, thinking about the thousands of bullet that had bounced of her beautiful skin in her short lifetime, the tens of thousands or punches her beautiful face has had to endure while ensuring everyone else was safe. It made her so angry. She didn't care that Kara couldn't physically feel any of it. That was hardly the point. Kara spent all her whole life putting oxygen masks over other people's mouths but it the midst of all the panic, she forgot to put on her own. The thought of her friend being in so much pain made Lena hold her even tighter. Kissing the top of her head, the brunette finally let her own tears fall.

Finally, when Kara's sobs subsided and were replaced by shaky breaths and soft hiccups, the alien pulled away to look into the eyes of her comfort source.

"You're c-crying," Kara croaked, her voice horse with weak with tears and her breath hitching mid-sentence. She reached up and wiped her friend's cheeks gently. The gesture was so innocent that it almost caused Lena to start crying all over again. Kara was hurting beyond anyone's imagination and she still put other people before herself.

"You're so beautiful," Lena replied, caressing her friend's cheek with her thumb. "Did you know?" Kara studied her friend intensely. She was convinced she'd see inconvenience etched in the dark green eyes but, to her surprise, all she could see was love and patience. More patience than Kara had ever seen on any of the planets she'd been to. Suddenly, it was all too much.

"Stop," Kara said, looking away, desperately trying to avoid her friend's gaze. Lena could tell she was exhausted. She tried to hide it because she was afraid to fall asleep, images of her planet going up in flames still playing on repeat in her troubled mind. Lena knew this. Every time she looked into those generous, loving, beautiful blue eyes, she could see an indescribable sadness. It was almost as if she could see the destruction of Krypton in the reflection of the alien's eyes and it completely broke her heart.

"I think it's time for you to go to sleep," Lena said, looking at the blonde profusely.

"No," Kara replied with surprising speed, her body suddenly tensing up.

"Kara..." Lena said.

"Don't want to," Kara replied, suppressing the tears that desperately wanted to fall. "I'm not tired," she added. She was such an awful liar that Lena had to laugh.

"Sweetie, we both know that's not true," Lena said carefully, weighing her words. A few hot tears escaped from Kara's eyes and splattered onto her cheeks. She wiped at them angrily, frustration starting to build up. Lena immediately grabbed her hands and removed them from her face.

"Shh," she whispered, reaching up and gently catching the tears as they fell. Kara leaned into her best friend's touch and sighed. "Kara, I know you're exhausted."

"I'm scared," Kara finally admitted, choking on her words as her breath hitched.

"I know you are," Lena replied, squeezing her friends hand. "But you don't have to be. Not tonight." She stared into her eyes, hoping the blonde would trust her enough. Kara took a shaky breath before nodding. Lena reached out and helped her lie down on the couch. If it was big enough to fit them both, she wouldn't hesitate to lie down next to her. Instead she sat down on a pillow right by Kara's head. She could tell that her friend was fighting much needed sleep, trying to keep her eyes open against all odds. She sighed.

"It's okay, Kara. You don't have to worry about anything," she assured her, stroking her tear-stricken cheek gently.

"I'm sorry," Kara said, more tears falling from her eyes. Lena's heart shattered into a million tiny pieces.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Lena replied.

"Please don't l-leave me," Kara whimpered, her voice shaking.

"I wouldn't dare."

Silence fell upon the two women and for a moment, everything seemed okay. Lena continued to stroke Kara's hair softly and Kara kept her gaze on Lena.

"You're the bravest little hero," Lena said all of a sudden, smiling at her. Kara shook her head in protest, causing her tears to fall at a faster pace.

"Not brave," she whispered.

"Yes, you are," Lena replied. "You are the bravest, kindest person I know and if I have to tell you a million times before you believe me, I will." Kara hummed in response, but Lena knew she had fallen asleep. She smiled sadly at the alien that was more human than anybody else she had ever met, knowing that there was a long battle ahead of her. But right now, she was asleep. And maybe that was enough.


End file.
